Kildare & Leighlin Diocesan Appointments 2018
Diocesan changes every year are an important moment in the life of the diocese. I want to thank all the priests who very constructively engaged with me in the process of appointments in recent weeks. This positive engagement is not something taken for granted, but is deeply appreciated. Changing an appointment in a priest’s life is neither easy on the priest or the lay people and religious he has worked with. This year’s appointments are being announced in this first week of June, allowing the priests the months of June and July to make preparations for their new appointment.
We continue the reflection and discussion at local deanery level regarding my Pastoral sometime back on ‘Facing the Changes & Challenges Together’, I enjoyed very much the recent meeting in the former Tullow Deanery and look forward to meeting the former Kildare Deanery later this month. In these last two months before the World Meeting of Families in August, let us as a diocese deeply reflect on how we can encourage family life at parish life. The diocese is a family of parishes; the parish is a family of families.
Returning to this year’s appointments I want to sincerely thank Fr. Tom Lalor and Fr. Frank McNamara who are retiring after many years of service to the diocese. I want to thank those taking up new appointments and to assure them of every support and prayer in these weeks of transition. I want to acknowledge the contribution Fr. Tadeusz Durajczyk SVD has made to the Polish Community of Kildare & Leighlin over the past twelve years and in more recent times to Newbridge Parish. To all our priests celebrating Jubilees this year, I simply pray “ad multos annos”.
+ Denis
The appointments are as follows:
Fr. Tom Lalor PP Leighlin to retire and will assist in K&L South Deanery Area
Fr. Frank McNamara PE CC Mountmellick to retire
Fr. Pat Hennessy PP Ballyfin to become PP Leighlin
Fr. Gerard Breen PP Balyna to become PP Stradbally
Fr. Joe Brophy CC Mountrath to become PP Ballyfin & Mountrath
Fr. Eddie Kavanagh CC Allen to become PP Balyna
Fr. Sean Maher PP Stradbally to join the Naas/Sallins/Two-Mile-House Team
Fr. Brian Kavanagh to become CC Allen & continue his work with the National Marriage Appeals Tribunal in Maynooth
Fr. Joe O’Neill CC Naas to go on a one-year sabbatical to the Diocese of Los Angeles
Fr. Tadeusz Durajczyk SVD CC Newbridge is returning to his Order
Fr. Eugen Dragas Tamas to become CC Newbridge
Fr. P.J. Fitzgerald SPS to become CC Mountrath
The new appointments are all to come into effect on August 1st 2018.